Alison Lawton
Encyclopedia
Alison Lawton is an entrepreneur, social advocate and philanthropist. She is the producer of the documentary Uganda Rising and founder of Mindset Social Innovation Foundation.
She also founded IdeaPark Ventures, an internet incubator company that she in 2000 to Goldcorp
mining magnate, Ian Telfer. At the same time, she became an early stage investor in Vision Critical
. Angus Reid
, known for social research in Canada, is the company’s CEO.
In 2000, she married financier and philanthropist Frank Giustra
and had her first child – a son. (She had a daughter three years later, then she and Giustra separated in 2008).
Lawton returned to school in 2002 to do a Master of Arts degree in Applied Sciences from Simon Fraser University. Her thesis focused on “the role of the media in creating value in financial markets.”
Lawton kept active business while working on her MA and continues to do so. She’s an investor in several BC-based software start-ups, including Sosido Networks, Strutta and Tyze Personal Networks. She was also an early stage investor in YYOGA (yoga health and wellness centres started by Nettwerk Music Group founder and CEO Terry McBride
).
In November 2005, Lawton was appointed Chair of the Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS
campaign for UNICEF Canada. Some of her campaign initiatives included producing the Unite against AIDS concert series and UNICEF’s first Canadian art auction, Unite with Art. The events raise funds for UNICEF, as well as the consciousness around HIV/AIDS and how it has redefined childhood for millions of children worldwide. Lawton also produced a 25-minute educational documentary for UNICEF; Hope in the Time of AIDS featured Stephen Lewis
and was narrated by Pierce Brosnan
.
Lawton met Lloyd Axworthy
, former Director of the University of British Columbia’s Liu Institute for Global Issues
and former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, in 2004. He encouraged her to cover the forcible conscription of children in Uganda’s civil war.
After a trip to Uganda she struggled with how to properly publicize the plight of the Acholi children in Uganda and consulted with former President Bill Clinton
, whom she met while touring Africa with UNICEF and the Clinton Foundation
. On a special request from the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
, she flew to India to present her work and also consult with the Dalai Lama
. The spiritual leader told her to stop worrying and "work from a place in your heart." What started off as an educational video that Axworthy could use for lobbying, ended up becoming "Uganda Rising", a full-length documentary that chronicled the 20-year civil war in the country. Written and co-directed (with Jesse James Miller) by Pete McCormack
, and narrated by Kevin Spacey
, it screened at more than 25 film festivals worldwide and was the recipient of the Best Documentary Award at several festivals including WT Os International Film Festival
and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
.
In 2006, Lawton founded Mindset Social Innovation Foundation. As its founder and CEO, Lawton directly works with artists, policy makers, educational institutions, governments, and UN organizations. The foundation's mandate is to change the way people think, feel and act towards today’s most pressing issues.
In 2009, Lawton donated $1 million to the University of British Columbia
Graduate School of Journalism. The donation sustains an International Reporting course so students can travel abroad to work on under-reported news stories. The first year of the course saw 10 students travel to China, India and Ghana to investigate the growing trend of North American electronic waste being shipped to developing countries. The inaugural students won an Emmy for their documentary, “Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground,” which came out of their course work.
Lawton is funding research at UBC that is studying the discovery, development and delivery of pharmaceutical drugs. The group is creating an online collaborative platform to share ideas for change so that life-saving medicines are more widely and readily distributed to those most in need (antiretrovirals for AIDS in Africa, for example).
Lawton currently sits on the advisory council for Richard Branson
’s foundation, Virgin Unite
Canada, whose mandate is to unite people to tackle tough social and environmental problems with an entrepreneurial approach. In 2009, she joined Branson and other international entrepreneurs on a trip to South Africa to evaluate Virgin Unite projects.
She also continues to be a senior partner for the Acumen Fund
, a non-profit global venture that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. As well, she has financed and produced a series of fundraising videos and events for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
.
Early years
Alison Lawton (born May 29, 1970) is an entrepreneur, social advocate and philanthropist. She is the producer of the documentary Uganda Rising and founder of Mindset Social Innovation Foundation. Lawton graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Concordia University in 1995 and then joined Investor First Financial. In 1997, Lawton founded the Winfield Venture Group, a private angel investment firm along with IdeaPark Ventures. In 2000, Lawton married Frank Giustra, Vancouver-based financier and philanthropist.Business career
In 1995, Lawton joined Investor First Financial and began her business career in private equity sales. She focused on the areas of syndicated software, film, television, real estate and tax shelter offerings. In 1997, she founded her own investment company, Winfield Venture Group; a private angel investment and corporate finance boutique.She also founded IdeaPark Ventures, an internet incubator company that she in 2000 to Goldcorp
Goldcorp
Goldcorp Inc. is a gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Goldcorp has 16 operations and development projects in 6 countries across the Americas....
mining magnate, Ian Telfer. At the same time, she became an early stage investor in Vision Critical
Vision Critical
Vision Critical is a strategic global market research and technology firm that creates software and services solutions for a diverse roster of international clients. The company was founded by Andrew Reid in 2000 amid the collapse of the dot com era and now has offices across North America, Europe...
. Angus Reid
Angus Reid
Angus Reid is an offensive lineman for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Reid went to Simon Fraser University and played for the Simon Fraser Clan. He began his career with the Montreal Alouettes but was traded, along with a 5th round draft pick, to BC for Adriano Belli...
, known for social research in Canada, is the company’s CEO.
In 2000, she married financier and philanthropist Frank Giustra
Frank Giustra
Frank Giustra is a Canadian business executive, who has been particularly successful in the mining and filmmaking industries, and is a noted philanthropist.-Early life:...
and had her first child – a son. (She had a daughter three years later, then she and Giustra separated in 2008).
Lawton returned to school in 2002 to do a Master of Arts degree in Applied Sciences from Simon Fraser University. Her thesis focused on “the role of the media in creating value in financial markets.”
Lawton kept active business while working on her MA and continues to do so. She’s an investor in several BC-based software start-ups, including Sosido Networks, Strutta and Tyze Personal Networks. She was also an early stage investor in YYOGA (yoga health and wellness centres started by Nettwerk Music Group founder and CEO Terry McBride
Terry McBride
Terry McBride is the current CEO and one of three founders of the Nettwerk Music Group, which includes Nettwerk Productions , Nettwerk Management , Nettwerk One , and Artwerks...
).
Philanthropy and advocacy
While Lawton focused on business ventures, she was also involved in Humanitarian work. She has served on the board of the Positive Women’s Network and Pacific AIDS Resource Centre (PARC) and worked one on one with HIV-positive kids in home settings and helped to organize retreats for HIV-positive women and children.In November 2005, Lawton was appointed Chair of the Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS
Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS
Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS is a global Campaign launched by UNICEF in 2005 to raise awareness of the plight of children globally in relation to HIV and AIDS, and to spur action....
campaign for UNICEF Canada. Some of her campaign initiatives included producing the Unite against AIDS concert series and UNICEF’s first Canadian art auction, Unite with Art. The events raise funds for UNICEF, as well as the consciousness around HIV/AIDS and how it has redefined childhood for millions of children worldwide. Lawton also produced a 25-minute educational documentary for UNICEF; Hope in the Time of AIDS featured Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Henry Lewis, is a Canadian politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of the those years as leader, his father David Lewis was simultaneously the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party...
and was narrated by Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
.
Lawton met Lloyd Axworthy
Lloyd Axworthy
Lloyd Norman Axworthy, PC, OC, OM is a prominent Canadian politician, statesman and University President from Manitoba. He is best known for having served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien...
, former Director of the University of British Columbia’s Liu Institute for Global Issues
Liu Institute for Global Issues
The Liu Institute for Global Issues is an organization devoted to research at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Named after Dr. Jieh Jow Liou, the Liu Institute conducts and facilitates research on global issues, mobilizing knowledge into solutions and policy...
and former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, in 2004. He encouraged her to cover the forcible conscription of children in Uganda’s civil war.
After a trip to Uganda she struggled with how to properly publicize the plight of the Acholi children in Uganda and consulted with former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, whom she met while touring Africa with UNICEF and the Clinton Foundation
Clinton Foundation
The William J. Clinton Foundation is a foundation established by former President of the United States Bill Clinton with the stated mission to "strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence." The Foundation focuses on four critical areas:...
. On a special request from the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is an international charitable organization and education center located in Vancouver, Canada. Established in 2005, the center describes its mission as "educating the heart and fostering compassion through creative learning, facilitating and applying...
, she flew to India to present her work and also consult with the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
. The spiritual leader told her to stop worrying and "work from a place in your heart." What started off as an educational video that Axworthy could use for lobbying, ended up becoming "Uganda Rising", a full-length documentary that chronicled the 20-year civil war in the country. Written and co-directed (with Jesse James Miller) by Pete McCormack
Pete McCormack
Pete McCormack is a Canadian author, filmmaker, screenwriter and musician. He is best known for directing the Academy Award short-listed documentary Facing Ali and the Leacock Award-nominated novel Understanding Ken.- Film :...
, and narrated by Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, it screened at more than 25 film festivals worldwide and was the recipient of the Best Documentary Award at several festivals including WT Os International Film Festival
WT Os International Film Festival
WT Os International Film Festival, also known as the WT-festival, is an international film festival in Os, south of Bergen, Norway, held annually in early November....
and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight...
.
In 2006, Lawton founded Mindset Social Innovation Foundation. As its founder and CEO, Lawton directly works with artists, policy makers, educational institutions, governments, and UN organizations. The foundation's mandate is to change the way people think, feel and act towards today’s most pressing issues.
In 2009, Lawton donated $1 million to the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
Graduate School of Journalism. The donation sustains an International Reporting course so students can travel abroad to work on under-reported news stories. The first year of the course saw 10 students travel to China, India and Ghana to investigate the growing trend of North American electronic waste being shipped to developing countries. The inaugural students won an Emmy for their documentary, “Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground,” which came out of their course work.
Lawton is funding research at UBC that is studying the discovery, development and delivery of pharmaceutical drugs. The group is creating an online collaborative platform to share ideas for change so that life-saving medicines are more widely and readily distributed to those most in need (antiretrovirals for AIDS in Africa, for example).
Lawton currently sits on the advisory council for Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
’s foundation, Virgin Unite
Virgin Unite
Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin Group and its hundreds of subsidiaries and associated...
Canada, whose mandate is to unite people to tackle tough social and environmental problems with an entrepreneurial approach. In 2009, she joined Branson and other international entrepreneurs on a trip to South Africa to evaluate Virgin Unite projects.
She also continues to be a senior partner for the Acumen Fund
Acumen Fund
Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. Its aim is to help build financially sustainable and scalable organizations that deliver affordable critical goods and services that improve the lives of the poor...
, a non-profit global venture that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. As well, she has financed and produced a series of fundraising videos and events for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society is a Canadian registered charity located in Vancouver, BC. Their mission is to provide food and related assistance to those in need.- History :...
.
Awards, appointments and memberships
- UNICEF’s Champion for Children Award (2006)
- UNICEF Canada Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS Chairperson (2006–2010)
- Simon Fraser University Outstanding Alumni Award for Community Service (2007)
- Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40 Award (2006)
- Appointed to the John F. Kennedy School of GovernmentJohn F. Kennedy School of GovernmentThe John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University - Sits on the Advisory Committee for Virgin Unite Canada
- Sits on the BC Advisory Council for Social Entrepreneurship
- Senior Fellow of the Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation at the Sauder School of BusinessSauder School of BusinessThe Sauder School of Business is a business school at the University of British Columbia located in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, Canada...
, UBC - Member of the UBC Graduate School of Journalism Advisory Board